Back to School Essentials

Tis the season to shop, so we went out to find some of the best stuff for the back to school set.

Best Value Computer : HP Pavilion a614n-b Desktop PC
The a614n-b is a great value PC from HP for the whole family or college student. This PC addresses the growing digital camera craze by including software called HP Image Zone Plus, which helps you organize, edit, share and protect your digital photos.

But that’s not all – it includes a Pentium 4 Processor 2.6GHz, 256MB of PC2100 DDR memory, 80GB hard drive, CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, 1394 HP keyboard and PS2 Scroller mouse, Harmon Kardon speakers and MX704 monitor.Best of all it’s only $549 after $150 mail-in rebate. www.hp.com

Brother MFC-3820cn 6 in 1 Printer
Great for students of all ages who want to create great looking projects comes Brother’s new 6 in1 multi-function center. It combines an inkjet color printer, color copier, color scanner, color fax, PC fax and PhotoCapture Center in one affordable, easy to use product. How affordable? Try $200 – an unbelievable price . If you bought all these products separately it would cost in to the 1000’s . But Brother doesn’t sacrifice quality for price, this unit prints super fast –12ppm in color -- and scan, fax, capture photos – it will do almost anything you toss at it.

The MFC-3820cn easily connects to your computer using a USB port or you can share its features over your wired or wireless network by plugging the machine directly into the router. This means that you can share it as printer, scanner and to send faxes. It also features memory card slots so you can print photos directly from your digital cameras media card or include your photos in your homework. With the MFC-3820cn there is no need to turn on your computer just to send a fax, make a copy, or print a picture from the media card slots. Windows and Mac compatible. $180; www.brother.com

Brother QL Series Label Maker
Another unique product that’s cool for back to school is the Brother QL Series Label Maker. It keeps kids stuff coming home after its lost and found --great for forgetful college students as well. Perfect for students for projects, but it will be an invaluable tool for teachers returning to the classroom.

With the QL Label Maker you can print large address and shipping labels at ultra-fast speed (up to 50 labels per minute), and the easy software allows you to just highlight, click and print directly from your PC using Microsoft Word, Excel or Outlook, or get creative using Brother’s included intuitive label design software. A variety of white pre-sized roll types are available, including address, shipping, file folders, CD/DVD and multi-purpose sizes, for just pennies a piece. What sets it apart from its competitors is its ability to also print on rolls of continuous tape, perfect for custom-length labels, signs or banners up to 3 feet long. Prices starting at $99. www.brother.com

New Fujifilm Digital Cameras
Back to school is always a great time to buy a digital camera - it is a great gift for a college bound student to send pictures home, or get one for the family to send photos to junior at school. Fuji has two new easy to use digital cameras --the FinePix A340 and S3100.

Fujifilm FinePix A340
The Fujifilm FinePix A340 is a 4 megapixel/3x optical zoom, easy-to-use camera that provides rich colors and lifelike image quality for prints and short movie clips to capture summer’s greatest moments at 10 frames per second.

The optional Universal Picture Cradle makes it easy for you to recharge your batteries and download images to share with friends and family online. When connected to a television set you can also play back and enjoy your videos in large-scale.

And to share images with friends and family, don't forget to make prints! Check out digitalcameradeveloping.com to upload photos to be printed and picked up at a store near you. Or, for the perfect gift, send bright, long-lasting prints to grandma across the country to be picked up her local store.

The FinePix A340 is listed at $279.99, MSRP. For more information visit www.fujifilm.com

Fujifilm FinePix S3100
The FinePix S3100 offers beginner digital photographers 4 million pixels of shooting power with a fully automatic point-and-shoot feature set. The camera also offers a 6x optical and 3.4x digital zoom to capture crisp, clear images of distant subjects, and captures QVGA video clips at a rate of 10 frames/second. This model will replace the popular FinePix S3000 in August. The FinePix S3100 offers traditional 35mm styling, while pistol grips offer easy handling. The S3100 is listed at $349, MSRP. For more information visit www.fujifilm.com